Ilia disconnected the call and flopped backward on her borrowed bed with a sigh. The scroll in her hand bounced out of her fingertips and landed somewhere on the blanket, but she didn't particularly care where it had gotten to. The faunus could feel a headache coming on… and a particularly painful pulse surged through her forehead as she heard a knock at the door.

"…Em?"

"Not quite," came a reply just bordering on the edge of familiar. "Bad time?"

Intrigued, Ilia rose from the bed and slid off the foot of the mattress before making her way over and toward the door.

"You could say that, but I have a feeling the good times are over."

The door swung open to reveal Neon Katt, looking far more rested and amused than the last time Ilia had seen her. Where before she had been exhausted, stressed, and bloodied, Neon was instead wide awake and practically glowing as she flashed Ilia a smirk.

"Not according to the noises coming from your room at night. The walls are thin, babe."

Ilia rolled her eyes and leaned into the doorframe, looking and feeling very much the opposite of Neon. Her hair was disheveled and she was down to just her pants and a sports bra, a look that very much gave away how tired she was. Though Ilia didn't really know the other girl at all, talking to her was just about the last thing she wanted to deal with at the moment.

"Yeah, well, we might all be about to die, so excuse me if Em and I fuck in the meantime. What do you need?" Ilia deadpanned.

"Honestly? Good for you," Neon praised, giving her feline tail a little flick to one side. "Wish I could do the same, right about now. I don't need anything, actually, I just came by to say thanks for pulling me out of Mantle, and to ask what our next move is. That being said… you don't look so hot. What's wrong?"

Ilia heaved a sigh and shook her head before looking up at the taller faunus with frustration written all over her face.

"Listen, Neon… I appreciate the concern, but it's not something I need help with. I just had to break some bad news to a friend, and now I feel shitty over it. That's all. As for what's next… Jacques and Alice are supposed to be handling that. I just want to sleep for a bit. Preferably with a friend. You haven't seen her around, have you?"

"Can't say that I have, no," Neon admitted as she moved a little closer. "But would it make you feel better to know that you're directly responsible for saving the lives of a couple of children? Don't forget about the small victories. If we only focus on the big things, it's easy to slip into depression, and that's not fun for anyone."

Ilia wrinkled her nose and narrowed her eyes before pushing off the doorframe and standing up straight. It took her a moment to remember what the other girl was talking about… but once she did, she couldn't help but smile just a little.

"…I hate kids. How are they?"

"They're doing okay," Neon answered. "And do you, though?"

"I really do, but… I am glad that they're alright," Ilia admitted. "I guess it does help a little to know that they're safe. Seriously, though- nothing against you, but if you just want to talk, can we do it another time? I'm exhausted."

"I can tell," Neon acknowledged with a nod. "And I'm impossible to offend. I owe you a drink, probably several, once this all blows over. See you in the morning?"

"Yeah. Breakfast together?" Ilia suggested. "I'll be less of a royal bitch then, I promise."

"I'll hold you to it," Neon replied with a wink before offering a small wave and heading back out into the hall. "Maybe we'll even have some fun."

Ilia let out a sigh and ran her hand through her hair once again, messing up the strands as she squinted her eyes shut to try to alleviate her headache.

"Really hope at least someone on our side is having fun right about now…"

Jacques Schnee hadn't moved in hours. The man was sat before an array of monitors in the command center of Aurora's Cradle, with both Alice and Moss watching his every move. Great progress had been made mapping out potential routes through Argus and identifying likely problem areas… but there was another issue. Filtering through the S.D.C.'s records was work- real, actual work- unlike any that Jacques was used to. As the hours wore on, he could feel his stamina waning and the prospect of getting involved in the fight to save himself was becoming less and less attractive. Even so, Jacques knew that he didn't really have a choice… and deep down, he knew that everything he was dealing with was his fault, directly or indirectly.

He would never admit it to anyone, no matter who threatened him or what they held over his head.

"What's the status on the heating grid down there?" Alice asked as she walked behind Jacques' chair and rested an arm atop the headrest, jerking Jacques backward quite suddenly. "We need it operational to stand a chance fighting down there."

Jacques quite nearly fell out of the chair as he was jostled about, but quickly regained his balance as he let out a small growl. A quick glance to a readout on one of the monitors told him what he needed to know, and predictably, the news wasn't what he wanted to see.

"…about 70% operational," Jacques answered. "That limits what areas will be available to you, with most of the damage down along the shoreline. Attacking there is a fool's errand anyway, so…"

"…you're aware that the second part of this operation is to hit Argus by sea, right?" Moss asked. The man was leaning up against a support beam not far from the computers, looking unamused as he idly twirled a pistol. "We need to get down to the ports, eventually. Any chance you can get the heating bars back up?"

"I can try," Jacques answered. "It'll take time, but I may be able to… incoming call…?"

"That's Atlas, but it's not Ironwood," Alice said as she leaned in beside Jacques and looked at the unfamiliar number. "Patch it through, and pray it's an ally."

Jacques let out a sigh before reaching forward to follow the order… only for his stomach to drop immediately as a video feed popped up onscreen. The man waiting on the other end wasn't someone Jacques was expecting to see, nor was he expecting to see so much of him. Marrow Amin was sitting on a bed as he held the scroll providing the video in his hand, and he was very much exposed. The faunus was shirtless, his hair was hanging down around his shoulders, and seemingly a bit damp. Jacques couldn't tell if the man was entirely naked or not, but it almost didn't matter. There was more than enough skin on display to make alarm bells go off in Jacques' head, though he couldn't quite explain the feeling of absolute dread that seeing Marrow filled him with.

Yet.

"Hey there!" the faunus said happily. "Heard you're in charge of coordinating information for the effort to take back Mantle. Turns out I'm in charge of our forces on the ground, so… let's talk! It's been a while, hasn't it? How've you been?"

"I…" Jacques sputtered, sitting up a bit straighter as he watched Marrow brush back his hair with his free hand. "…yes, of course. I'm… working for you?"

"Looks that way, yeah!" Marrow acknowledged with a smile that was a bit too wide. "Sounds like a good time, doesn't it? I'll try to make myself available, though I will admit, things have been pretty busy today. There's a lot of important stuff going on around here, even when I'm off the clock. I'm sure you can relate. They taking care of you over in the Cradle?"

Alice leaned forward a bit more, making sure she was visible in Jacques' peripheral.

"…great care," Jacques answered, earning a smirk from the woman leaning in beside him. "What do you need? I… I have data. Maps. Whatever you want, I can look into it. Let's just make this quick, please? It's getting late, a-"

"Oh, I don't know about that," Marrow said as he arched a brow. "We need to be thorough, planning an operation like this. We should make sure to cover everything we can, so get comfortable. Looks like you've got another set of eyes on your end to help. Let me get the other party involved in all this on the line real quick. Hey, babe?"

Jacques watched in horror as his daughter emerged from offscreen, wearing only a set of lacy black underwear. The young huntress sat down on the bed next to Marrow and drew him into a kiss, making sure to let the contact linger for an uncomfortable amount of time. When they were finished, Weiss ran a hand along the side of Marrow's face and then down his chest, letting her fingers knead through the dense patch of hair between his pecs. It didn't escape Jacques that her own hair was loose, wet, and freshly showered, much like that of the faunus beside her. He also noticed the red mark upon her neck, and her look of total satisfaction as she stared unblinkingly at the screen.

"Good evening, Jacques," Weiss said, her voice dripping with amusement. "I'm sure Marrow already told you, but the two of us have had a very busy day together. Sorry we didn't call sooner."

Jacques found that he had absolutely nothing to say as Weiss leaned her head sideways onto Marrow's shoulder. In fact, he couldn't even think as he watched the faunus wrap his arm around Weiss', pulling her closer.

"…oh, this is gold," Moss commented. "I'm gonna go get Shiv."

"Be quick, I don't want you to miss anything," Alice advised as she gave Moss a quick nod and then turned her attention back to the monitor. "You two are cute together… but you also look exhausted. Long day?"

"Quite long," Weiss acknowledged with a sigh. "Longer than I expected. And very hard."

"You knew what you were getting into," Marrow reminded. "This isn't the first time we've been in a situation like that, after all. It was exhausting, though, you two are right about that. I feel like I've been drained completely."

"I…" Jacques tried, his words failing him. The man's face was bright red, both from anger and embarrassment… though he knew that he wouldn't be allowed to make either known. "Can we… l-let's focus on the task at hand…"

"Of course," Weiss agreed. "After all, we do have something we'd like to get back to, after this meeting. I'm here largely because I have control of the S.D.C. and all of its assets. It'll be up to me to determine how to utilize them on the ground in Mantle and elsewhere on Remnant, though for now… my focus is on making sure Marrow is taken care of. I'm sure you'll help me with that by giving us all of the information we need, right? Otherwise… I might just have to use all of the company's resources to keep him safe."

"…right," Jacques answered before swallowing hard. "I'll make sure that he's kept safe…"

"You'd better," Weiss advised, her tone becoming something a bit more threatening. "After all, he's going to be your future son-in-law. There's nothing more important than family. Right?"

Jacques had to forcefully swallow his words at the comment. He knew that they had him pinned. He knew that there was absolutely no way out of the situation with any sort of dignity.

In truth, he knew that he deserved every bit of anguish he was feeling… and nothing he could say or do would stop Weiss from moving forward in her apparent relationship with Marrow.

"…right," the man resigned, wiping a hand down his face. "Let's begin, then. You're the boss, Marrow…"

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that."

Author's Note:

Jacques got off way too easy in canon. Let the torture begin.

-RD